Staying
by GAisLOVE
Summary: What if Serena never left for boarding school after she and Nate hooked up? Would Blair still eventually find out? Would Nate stay with Blair? Would things go back to normal? Pairing: SerenaNate along with others. REVIEW!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own Gossip Girl. If I did, I'd be rich and laying on a beach somewhere instead of writing a fan fiction at 4 in the morning.

**Summary: **What if Serena never left for boarding school after she and Nate 'sealed the deal? What if she tried to stay and forget about what happened? Would Blair ever find out? Would Nate and Serena be able to go back to being just friends? Would Nate stay with Blair? Would he tell her what happened? Would the three of them go back to the way they'd always been, or would Nate and Serena's secret end up tearing them all apart?

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Prologue:

I didn't know what I was doing. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down, tried to think. It wasn't working. I looked around me, the honking horns of traffic and all the people walking past me, staring at me like I was some idiot just standing in the middle of a busy New York City sidewalk. Which, of course, I was. But at this point, I really didn't care anymore. All I knew was that I had to get away from his townhouse. Watching him stand there and kiss Blair after what we had just done was too much for me to see. I mumbled some excuse about a meeting and being late and then I ran outside. After a few more deep breaths I began walking towards my own townhouse, which wasn't that far away from Nate's. I glanced behind me to make sure neither of them had followed me outside, thankfully they hadn't. They were probably too busy making out to even notice I was gone. I small shiver ran through my body as I pictured Nate kissing anyone besides me. Then I thought of Blair, and how much Nate meant to her. I felt the regret surge through me. What did I just do? How could I have done that to her? Tears started to form behind my eyes but I quickly brushed them away and walked even faster towards my townhouse.

I grabbed the spare key from its hiding place and quickly entered the house, slamming the door behind me and locking it. Luckily, no one was home. Leaning against the door, I closed my eyes and tried to get all my thoughts together. I could leave. I could go to boarding school and they would never have to see me again. I wouldn't have to hurt Blair, because she'd never find out. Her and Nate could have their happy ever after. They'd be fine without me. That was the best thing for everyone I decided. Now all I'd have to do is make the call to my father and pray that it wasn't too late for me to get in.

I let out a small sigh and began walking upstairs to my bedroom. I collapsed onto my bed, pulled out my cell phone and started dialing my father's number. He answered on the third ring. "Hello?" "Hey dad, it's me." "Serena? Are you okay? You sound upset." "No dad, I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you if it was too late…" I froze. Something caught my eye. I looked over on my dresser and there was a picture of Nate, Blair and I when we were younger. I was missing my front teeth, Nate look scrawny, and Blair's hair was a mess. But we were all laughing and holding each other close. I couldn't leave them. I couldn't just walk away from the people that had been my life and my support system since I was a little girl. "Serena? Are you still there?" I snapped back out of it. "Yeah, dad I'm still here. Sorry." "What were you saying?" "Um. Nothing, it was nothing. Never mind. I'll just talk to you later. Bye dad." I hung up the phone and tossed it somewhere on my bed. I glanced over at the picture on my dresser once again and convinced myself that I could do this. I could stay here. Nate and I could pretend like nothing ever happened and everything would go back to normal.

_Riiiight._

A few moments later my cell phone began to vibrate. I leaned over and looked at the screen. It was a new text message from Blair. I hit the view message button and read what appeared on the screen:

"S, hope you made it to whatever you were late for. Can't say I was too sorry that you left though - did I ever mention Nate is an amazing kisser? Anyways, call me later when you get the chance, you wouldn't believe the kinds of things people were wearing at that stupid wedding I was at. Don't worry, I'll make sure your maid of honor dress at mine and Nate's wedding is gorgeous. Love you, B."

I re-read it again. _Did I ever mention Nate is an amazing kisser?_ Ugh. No, you don't have to – I already know. I sighed and threw my phone across the room. I heard it land with a thump somewhere on my bedroom floor. I stared up at my ceiling and tried to convince myself everything would work out in the end. All I have to do is just forget what Nate and I did ever happened. How hard could that be?

_Hasn't anyone ever told her that some things are easier said than done?_

**A/N:** This was just a prologue to see if you guys like the idea. The actual chapters will be much longer. Anyways, review and let me know what you think and if you'd like me to continue.


	2. Avoiding

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gossip Girl. If I did my room wouldn't be a mess right now, because I'd have my own fabulous maid to clean it.

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone who reviewed for the prologue. I'm glad you guys liked the idea. This is my first Gossip Girl fanfic. I'll try to update as often as I can, which should be almost every other day, unless I have a lot going on. Obviously reviews motivate me to update quicker and they boost my self-esteem. So take the time to click that little tiny review button and make me happy. Oh, and I'm having Serena's brother be older than her, just like in the books. Okay, enough rambling, I'm shutting up now. Here's chapter one, enjoy!

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Chapter One – Avoiding

I woke up to the sun shining on my face. I slowly sat up and glanced over at my clock, one o'clock in the afternoon. After I had gotten the text message Blair sent me last night I shut off my phone and eventually just went to sleep.

I sighed and rolled out of bed, grabbed my cell phone and turned it on. After a few moments it started to vibrate – six new text messages and one voicemail. I quickly scrolled down my text messages and saw that two were from Blair and the rest were from Nate. _Great_. I read the two from Blair first, both of them complaining that I hadn't called her and that she better hear from me tomorrow. I hesitated when it came to Nate's messages. I wasn't sure if I wanted read them. After debating for a few moments, I opened his first message.

"Serena, are you still awake? We really need to talk."

"Serena please, just answer me."

"You're going to have to talk to me sooner or later."

"Look, we can't just pretend this didn't happen."

That's exactly what we're going to do, I thought, as I deleted all four of his messages. I was about to set my phone back down when I remembered I still had one voicemail. I entered in my password and pressed the phone to my ear and was relieved when I heard the familiar voice on the other end.

"Hey sis, it's me. You do know that you left all your stuff down here in Connecticut and mom's wondering why you left yesterday. So um, give me a call back and let me know what's up. Later."

I had almost completely forgotten about Ridgefield. Was it really just yesterday that I had come back to New York to see Nate? It felt like forever ago. I can't believe how quickly everything has changed. Yesterday with Nate I had never been so happy, so content. The only thing I cared about was me and him. I would have given anything to just stay in our own little bubble in his room and never come back out.

_Um. Hello? Hate to burst your bubble S, but what about your other BFF?_

I sighed and quickly pushed Nate out of my thoughts. I dialed my brother's cell phone number and waited for him to answer. Of course, I got his voicemail.

"Hey loser, it's me. Um, I don't think I'm coming back down to Ridgefield. It's a long story, I'll explain later. Just make something up to tell mom for me, you're good at that stuff. You guys enjoy the last week of summer down there and just bring all my stuff back when you guys come home. Call me later. Love you, bye."

I hung up the phone, threw it onto my bed and stepped into my bathroom. I looked in the mirror and sighed. My blonde hair was sticking up every where, I had forgotten to take off last night's make up – so of course it was all over my face, and my navy blue eyes looked sad and tired.

_And I bet she still looked like a movie star._

I threw my hair up into a messy bun and washed my make up off. Afterwards, I walked into my empty kitchen and went straight to the freezer, hoping to find any kind of ice cream or other fattening food. Of course, there was none. Frustrated, I decided that I'd have to run to the store and stock up on comfort food for the last week of summer, since I wasn't planning on leaving my house.

I walked back upstairs to my bedroom just as my cell phone started to vibrate. I looked down at the screen and saw a picture of Blair staring up at me. I knew I'd have to talk to her sooner or later, so I figured I might as well get it over with. I picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.

"Hey Blair. What's up?"

"_What happened to calling me last night?"_

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep. You know me."

"_That's true. Anyways, why'd you run out of Nate's so quickly yesterday? I really wanted to see you."_

"I had… a thing. Nothing important. How was your night?"

"_Amazing. We just laid around and watched movies. He seemed a little distracted, but that's Nate for you. God I didn't realize how much I missed him over the summer. I don't think I'll be able to make him wait much longer for you know what."_

My stomach started turning when I heard that. When I didn't respond right away, Blair continued talking.

"_Anyways, do you wanna go get lunch in a little? We still need to talk about my aunt's wedding. You wouldn't believe what a freak show it was."_

"Um… actually my family's still down in Ridgefield and I'm catching the next train to go back down there for the last week of break. But we'll definitely hang out as soon as I get back."

I couldn't believe I was lying to Blair. We told each other everything, ever since we were little girls, but there was just no way I was ready to face her yet.

"_Ugh. You suck. Alright, well have fun. Be the good little girl you always are. Haha. Love you S."_

"Love you too B. Have fun with Nate."

Fresh tears sprung to my eyes and I quickly pushed them back and hung up the phone. I loved my best friend and I didn't want to hurt her. I had to pretend Nate and I never happened. There's no other option.

_Are you sure about that, S?_

I took a few deep breaths, then changed into some jean shorts and a t-shirt. I threw on my pair of Chanel sunglasses, grabbed my wallet and walked out the door.

It didn't take me long to get to the little super market on the street corner a few blocks away from my house. I grabbed a small cart and started weaving down the aisles throwing in chips, ice cream, brownies and any other food that caught my eye. I quickly paid for everything then started walking back to my town house. I had only started walking less than a block before I heard a familiar voice call out my name. I ducked my head and walked a little faster, hoping that she would just think I didn't hear her, or that she hadn't really seen me. I thought I was in the clear when all the sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Serena, are you deaf? I was screaming your name," Blair said, staring at me like I was retarded.

"I'm sorry B. I was kind of zoning out, I guess I didn't hear you. What are you…" I trailed off as Nate walked up behind Blair. I felt my heart sink in my chest. He looked even more gorgeous than I had remembered - if that was even possible.

_With Nate, that's always possible._

"Oh, Nate and I were just gonna go run and get something to eat. I thought you told me you were heading back down to Connecticut?"

I briefly made eye contact with Nate and I froze. How was I supposed to form a complete sentence with him staring at me like that? He almost looked… sad. I broke eye contact with him and tried to find a way to talk myself out of this.

"Oh, um. I am. My mom… she uh… she wanted me to just go pick up some food first because… our maid. Yeah, our maid is coming by tomorrow and you know, wouldn't want to starve the maid," I finished, lamely – hoping that Blair would buy it. She stared at me for a second - luckily I was wearing sunglasses so my eyes didn't give me away.

"Oh well, whatever. Call me later tonight once you get in Ridgefield, okay?"

"Yeah. Okay. See ya B," I said, giving her a quick hug.

I mumbled a quiet goodbye to Nate before turning around and quickly walking back to my house.

Once I got inside, I put the food away in the fridge, then walked upstairs and changed into my brother's plaid PJ pants and a simple white tank top. I walked back down to the kitchen and started making myself a huge sundae. Once I decided it was fattening enough, I made my way into the living room and collapsed down on my couch. I flipped through On Demand before deciding on watching MTV instead. Comfort food and mind ruining reality shows, what could be better than that?

_Um, I could name a few things… especially ones involving a certain green-eyed boy of ours._

Two hours of Real World and three bowls of ice cream later, I was finally starting to relax and actually believed that things might turn out okay. I'd lay around my house all day for the next week, not have to see Blair or Nate, and by the time school started, I'll have forgotten all about what happened with Nate and everything will go back to normal.

_Riiight._

I was about to get up and make another bowl of ice cream when the buzzer rang. I sighed and walked over to the intercom and pressed the speak button.

"Who is it," I asked. When I got no response I walked slowly down to the door and looked through the peek hole. My heart sped up when I saw a pair of green eyes staring back at me. Shit.

_What was that she said about everything going back to normal?_


	3. Lying

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gossip Girl.

**A/N:** Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews. They really are appreciated and make me want to update much quicker. I'm off work for the next few days, so there should be an update everyday, or every other day. As far as couples go, I'm not really sure who I'm pairing up yet. So tell me what you guys want in your reviews. Enjoy!

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Chapter Two – Lying

I had three options. One, I could pretend I wasn't home and just leave him standing outside, hoping he'd go away eventually. Two, I could pretend to be the maid. Three, I could let him inside and find out what he wanted. I quickly decided that option three was out of the question and moved on to option one.

I stood there quietly for a few moments, hoping he'd just leave. Of course, I was wrong.

"Serena, I know you're in there. Do you really think I'm that stupid? Just open the door."

I cringed. I knew Nate wasn't an idiot. I also knew he wouldn't go away until he got what he wanted. In one last desperate attempt to avoid talking to him, I tried my luck with option two.

"Zee van der Woodsen's are not here right now. Zey are away until zee end of zee summer," I said, in the best French accent I could come up with. I almost thought it worked when I heard laughter on the other side of the door.

"Come on Serena, are you really that desperate not to talk to me? I promise it won't take long. Please," Nate said with a sigh.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I knew I couldn't avoid this forever. All I had to do was tell him that we had to completely forget it ever happened. Nate and Blair were perfect for each other, he probably wanted to put it behind us just as badly as I did. I took one last deep breath before I unlocked the door and opened it.

My breath caught in my throat and my heart started beating faster. Nate was standing there, his green eyes sad but still beautiful, and suddenly I wasn't so sure I could have this conversation anymore.

We stared at each other for a few moments before he silently walked past me, into my house. I followed him down the hall to my living room, where he had already sat down on the couch.

"Were you planning on putting yourself into a sugar-coma," He asked, with a smirk on his face, pointing to all the bowls of empty ice cream, obviously amused.

"Shut up," I said, playfully smacking his arm, "I was hungry."

He smiled at me and rolled his eyes. In response, I stuck my tongue out at him, giggling. Suddenly we made eye contact and neither of us said anything for a few moments. The playful mood that had been there just a second ago was suddenly gone, and replaced with a serious one.

"Serena, look I-" he began, but I cut him off.

"Nate, we don't have to talk about it. You don't owe me an explaination. It was a mistake, neither of us were thinking and we just got caught up in the moment. You love Blair, I know that. So really, we don't have to have this conversation. We can go back to just being friends, like before."

_As if they were ever really just friends._

He paused a few moments before he finally spoke again.

"So… you think it was a mistake," he asked. I was surprised by the look of disappointment in his eyes.

"Well yeah… I mean, don't you?" I started fidgeting with my hands, something I only did when I was nervous. And the look on his face was making me beyond nervous. I really just wanted this conversation to be over with.

"And you just want to go back to being friends? Like nothing ever happened," he asked, ignoring my previous question.

I paused and looked into his eyes, trying to figure out what to say. I knew what I wanted to say. But what I wanted to say and what I needed to say were two completely different things. I sighed and slowly started nodding my head yes. "Of course, like I said… it was just a mistake."

He opened his mouth, like he was about to say something, then closed it again.

**Nate's POV**

I knew what I wanted to say, but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to tell her. To tell her that what we did meant something to me. To tell her that I cared about her, that I loved her – always had, always will. To tell her that I didn't think we could go back to being friends. To tell her that somehow I could make it all okay. To tell her that even though she was in sweats right now, she'd never looked more beautiful. That's what I had came here to tell her in the first place.

But as I looked into her beautiful navy eyes, I knew all those things were things she didn't want to hear. She didn't need me to make this complicated for her. She insisted that it was just a mistake. She was being a good friend to Blair, and I respected that. I would never want to hurt Blair, not intentionally.

So instead of saying all those things I wanted to, I put on my best smile and nodded my head, "I agree. It was just a mistake. I'm glad we can just put this behind us and start going back to normal." Just for a second, I thought I saw her look sad, almost disappointed – like she had been expecting me to say something completely different. But she quickly shook it off and gave me one of her famous, 'you know you love me', smiles. And it was true, I did love her. But obviously that didn't matter now.

"Good," she said - still smiling, "I'm glad we sorted this all out."

She stood up and started walking towards her front door. I assumed that meant she was ready for me to leave, so I got up and followed her. I paused when we got to her front door and turned around to face her.

"You better have that french maid of yours clean up all those ice cream bowls," I said with a wink. She flashed me another smile, "Shut up, Nate." I laughed, "Seriously Serena, you were desperate enough to pretend to be a maid? Or say that you were going to be in Connecticut for the rest of summer? Did you really not want to talk to me that badly?" I asked, still laughing. "I don't know. I guess I was just nervous about how you felt. I didn't want to make things weird between us," she replied, looking down at the ground.

"Hey," I said, and she raised her eyes to meet mine, "Nothing's going to be weird between us. Everything will be fine. You don't have to hide out in your house for the rest of summer."

She smiled and nodded, her blonde hair falling out of the messy bun it was in, "I know, it was a really stupid idea. I don't know what I was thinking. I'll call Blair and let her know that I changed my mind and I'm staying in NY for the rest of break. The three of us can hang out or whatever."

I had to fight back laughter. The three of us had always been inseparable, but the thought of us all hanging out now seemed almost ridiculous to me.

"Yeah.. that'll be… fun," I said, even though the tone of my voice showed the exact opposite.

She gave me a sad smile, then opened her front door. I pulled her into a small one armed hug before walking out of her house, "I'll see you later," I said. "Yeah, I guess. Bye Natie," she said in a small voice before shutting the door.

As soon as she was out of sight, I removed my fake smile and replaced it with a sad one. I slowly started walking back towards my house. I was about halfway there when my cell phone started to vibrate. I looked down at the screen and a picture of Blair and I kissing was staring back up at me. I hit the silent button and continued walking. Blair was the last person I could talk to right now.

**Serena's POV**

As soon as I shut the door I felt the tears begin to form. Instead of brushing them away, I let them fall. I had never expected it to be this hard, to have to pretend and lie to him. I was angry at myself for feeling disappointed, for wanting him to say something different. I was angry at myself for letting this happen, for putting myself in this situation. I was angry at myself for not having the guts to tell Blair, even if it would hurt her.

I closed my eyes and got myself together. I slowly made my way back to the kitchen to clean up my ice cream bowls. I was about to start washing the first one, but instead I grabbed it and refilled it with more ice cream. I walked back over to the couch, collapsed down and turned the Real World marathon back on. The worst is over, I convinced myself. It'll get easier from here. The past will just stay in the past.

_Someone should really tell her that the past never stays in the past._


	4. Different

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gossip Girl. If I did the last book would have ended with Nate on one knee and Serena saying yes.

**A/N:** Hey guys. Sorry it took me a few days to update. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, mine unfortunately sucked. But anyways, this story will eventually be a Nate/Serena. Keyword: eventually. So just hang tight, they'll be together sometime in the future. I'll also include other pairings, I'm just not sure which ones yet. If there are any other pairs you'd like to see in this story, just let me know. And I'm having Serena be sixteen, because I'm pretty sure in "It Had to be You" she celebrated her sixteenth birthday right before she went back to New York to meet up with Nate. But I'm not positive. So correct me if I'm wrong. Okay, I'm done rambling, here's chapter three – it's the longest one yet

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Chapter Three – Different

**Blair's POV**

Only one week left in summer, I thought bitterly as I flipped over onto my back instantly feeling the warmth of the sun. I couldn't believe how quickly it had passed and I couldn't believe I hardly got to see Nate or Serena the entire three months.

I mentally started going over my list of things to do the rest of this week:

Have sex with Nate, plan the 'Sweet Summer Nights' party, have sex with Nate, go shopping for new fall clothes, talk to Nate about our future, convince my dad to part with his so-called 'partner' long enough to come visit me, tell my mother that eating half her weight in food every day isn't going to change the fact that my father is gay, and have sex with Nate.

I felt my cell phone begin to vibrate underneath my towel. I sighed and sat up, reaching for the phone. Making a mental note to add 'get a manicure' to my list of things to do.

I glanced down at the screen, Serena.

"Hey S. What happened to calling me last night once you got back to Ridgefield?"

"_Actually, I decided to just stay in the city for the rest of the week. It seemed kind of pointless to go back for that little time."_

"Ugh. Well you still should have called last night, we could have gone out or something."

"_I wasn't in a very going out mood. Guess I'm still tired from all that partying in __Connecticut."_

Serena, tired from partying? Yeah, right.

"Whatever. I hope you caught up on your sleep last night because we're going out. I'll be over in about a half hour."

"_Where are we going?"_

"Don't worry about it. See you in little."

I hung up the phone, picked up my towel and walked back into my house. After a quick shower, I blow dried and straightened my hair, threw on a pair of True Religion jeans and a simple white tank top. I grabbed my Dior sunglasses on the way out door and started walking down the sidewalk.

Once I reached a street corner I raised my hand and a cab stopped moments later. I hopped in and told the driver Serena's address, trying to ignore the fact that he smelled hideous.

I practically held my breath the entire way to Serena's and after what felt like hours, the cab came to a stop outside of her townhouse. I quickly threw the money at the driver and ran up to the doorstep.

I rang the bell repeatedly, until she stepped out a few minutes later. She was wearing simple jean shorts, a lacy navy blue tank top and her blonde curls were pulled up into a pony tail. It was annoying as fuck that it had probably only taken her a few minutes to get ready and she still looked flawless.

_Of course she did. When doesn't she?_

"How many times were you planning on ringing the bell in the next minute," she said with a smile, showing her perfect white teeth.

"As many times as it took for you to get your ass down here, now let's go," I said, as I grabbed her hand and started walking.

We had only gotten a few yards before a group of construction workers started whistling in our direction.

"God Serena, you're like a pig magnet," I said, pushing her away from me.

She laughed, "Shut up B, it's not just me. I do believe there are two gorgeous ladies walking here."

I rolled my eyes, "Okay so, manicures first then lunch afterwards?"

She nodded and we continued walking. After a few moments of silence I glanced over at Serena to find her staring at the ground as she walked – something Serena van der Woodsen never did.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked. My question brought her out of her daze.

She immediately put on a smile, "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you just seem a little off."

She shrugged in response.

"S, you know you can tell me anything right," I said, looking directly at her.

She looked down at the ground and then back up at me. She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then closed it again.

"I'm really fine B, like I said before – just tired from break, that's all."

I stared at her for a moment. She was definitely acting different, and I'd figure out why sooner or later.

"Okay, whatever you say," I said, letting it go – for now.

**Serena's POV**

By the time we got to DanVie's nail salon on Madison Avenue I had managed to make myself look like a complete idiot. I knew if I didn't stop acting weird Blair would realize that something was wrong. And of course, once Blair knows something is wrong she doesn't shut up until she finds out what it is.

I didn't understand why it was so hard. We had been best friends since we were little kids, we grew up together, I should be able to just freaking relax around her.

_Maybe it's the fact that you slept with her boyfriend?_

We walked into the nail salon to find the waiting area filled with people. Sitting next to Blair for longer than necessary meant her asking more questions, which was something I didn't need right now.

"Do you wanna just skip the nails? I really don't wanna spend all day waiting when we only have a few days left in summer," I said.

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "Who said anything about waiting," she said with a smirk.

I watched as Blair walked up to the manger and air-kissed both sides of her cheek. They spent a few moments talking and laughing and then the manger motioned for me and Blair to follow her back into the salon.

_Didn't anyone ever tell you S - it's all about who you know._

We each sat down at separate tables across from each other and the employee's immediately grabbed one of our hands and began working.

"So sweet sixteen, how's it feel, have you done anything big," Blair asked.

Big. You mean like losing my virginity? Yeah, I guess I did that, not that I can actually tell you about it because you'd probably stab me in the eye with a stiletto heel.

"Alright I guess," I answered with a shrug, "I don't feel any older. And I only got a few lame presents from my family. Nothing big."

A grin slowly spread across Blair's face, "Nothing big yet."

I sighed, "Blair, please. I really don't want anything huge."

"But, it's your sweet sixteen. And you're you. You have to have a party. So I was thinking that we could just combine the end of the summer party with your sweet sixteen. It's perfect," she said with a smile, obviously pleased that she had come up with the idea.

I was about to object, but the look on Blair's face told me that I really didn't have an option. I sighed, "Okay whatever."

She squealed in delight and started rambling off a list of things we'd have to do in a short period of time. I let my mind wander as she continued to talk. Knowing Blair the party would be huge, so I could easily avoid seeing Nate, thankfully I hadn't spoken to him since he left my house yesterday afternoon. But what if he got me a present? Would it be a normal friend present or would it be a "hi, we used to be just friends but then we had sex last week" present.

"Serena. You could at least pay attention when I'm talking about you're birthday party. You've been zoning out all day. What's wrong with you," Blair's voice said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I quickly looked up to see her staring at me closely. Shit.

"I'm fine, really. I was just thinking about how summer's almost over and school and all that." The lie didn't even really sound convincing to myself, there was no way Blair would buy it.

She stared at me for another few seconds, shrugged and then continued talking, "As I was saying… since you don't want anything big, I was thinking about one hundred people?"

I rolled my eyes and just nodded in agreement. I knew I wasn't going to have any say in planning this.

Luckily, Blair got into a conversation with the woman that was doing her nails and the rest of our 'nail appointment' went by pretty quickly.

**Blair's POV**

We were about half way done with our walk to the small café where we were going to grab some lunch and Serena had barely said anything.

I started going down my list of people we should invite to the party and she'd just nod occasionally. What the hell is wrong with her?

We walked into the café, ordered our food, then grabbed a table and sat down.

"Are you sure you're okay Serena," I asked, searching her face for anything that would give her away.

She flashed me a smile, "Of course. I'm fine B, you worry too much. I seriously think you're just imagining things. Anyways, tell me about your aunt's wedding, was it really that bad?"

I started going into details about some of the hideous outfits and entertainment choices I had to endure at the wedding, when all the sudden I saw Nate and Chuck walk into the café.

I smiled and called over to them, "Hey Nate and Chuck, over here."

I heard a choking noise and looked back at Serena to see her coughing out a bite of her sandwich.

For a second she almost looked nervous, but it was immediately replaced with a smile, "I really should chew more carefully," she said.

I rolled my eyes and turned around to see Nate and Chuck making their way over to our table.

I smiled as they both sat down.

"Hey gorgeous," I said, leaning forward and placing a kiss on his cheek. I still couldn't believe how lucky I was to have him.

_No comment._

"Ugh. Please. No mushy romantic stuff, I'm trying to eat," Chuck said, opening his mouth and pretending to stick a finger down his throat.

"Grow up. Jealously doesn't look good on you Chuck," I replied.

"Oh please, like I'd ever be jealous of you two."

I ignored him and turned my attention back to Nate, "So what'd you do today, I haven't talked to you since last night."

"You know, just hung around with Chuck," he said.

I studied his posture for a moment. There was definitely something different about him. I realized he looked stiff sitting in the chair, the farthest thing from relaxed. His eyes looked like he was distracted, like his thoughts had been somewhere else. He also looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep lately. Maybe he's having family problems.

_Or maybe he's having girl problems._

I glanced over at Serena who was staring down at her food.

"You know S, you can stare at it all you want – the food's still not going to talk back," I said, letting out a small chuckle.

She glanced up at me and I noticed her eyes focus on Nate for a moment before focusing back on me, "Sorry. I must have been zoning out again. But hey, I forgot that I was supposed to pick up this thing for my mom, actually she wanted me to do it yesterday, but you know me, I forgot. So I'm just gonna go," she said, already standing up.

"Well why don't I go with you? I really wouldn't…" I started to say, but she quickly cut me off.

"No. No.. it's fine really, it'll be boring. And plus you're not finished eating. I'll just catch up with you later."

I looked at her for a few moments, something was definitely wrong.

"Okay…" I said slowly, "Just make sure you call me later tonight. We have to work out a few more details for your party."

"Alright I will," she said as she leaned over the table and pulled me in for a quick hug. She said quiet goodbye's to Nate and Chuck before walking out of the café and down the sidewalk.

Once she was out of view I turned my attention back to the boys. "So, any idea what you guys are going to get my best friend for her birthday"

"We actually have to get her something? I'm gracing her with my presence at her party, isn't that enough?" Chuck asked, a smirk on his face.

"Ha-ha you're so funny. Yes you have to get her something. It's her sweet sixteen. No one's getting in unless they have a gift for her," I replied.

"Well me and Nathaniel here can dress up as strippers and give her a dance, right Nate?" Chuck said, punching his best friend's arm.

"Huh? I'm sorry, I wasn't really listening, what were we talking about?" Nate replied glancing back and forth between me and Chuck.

"Serena's birthday party. I swear, you and Serena both have focusing problems today," I said with a small smile.

He laughed and then suddenly stood up, "You know what, I think I'm gonna head home. I really feel like crap. Blair, I'll call you later tonight, alright?"

I stared at him for a moment. "Um, okay I guess… feel better," I stood up and went to kiss his lips, but he turned his head to the side so I only got his cheek. He gave Chuck a quick pat on the back before walking out the door.

Chuck leaned over to me, "What the hell is wrong with both of them?"

I stared at Nate's figure walking down the sidewalk away from the café, "I have no idea, but I'm going to find out."

_I'm not so sure that's an answer you want to find out, B."_


	5. Almost

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gossip Girl, blah blah blah.

**A/N: ** I know, I know – I suck at updating. But, as most seventeen year olds, my life is hectic. School and work suck, and friend drama makes me wanna kill someone. Not to mention the lack of reviews doesn't exactly motivate me. (hint, hint.) But anyways, I'm done giving excuses. This chapter has parts that refers back to the Gossip Girl prequel book, so if you haven't read it, just PM me and I'll explain it to you. Anyways, enjoy.

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Chapter Four – Almost

**Serena's POV**

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the traffic below me. I took another hit of my cigarette and exhaled loudly. Usually, sitting out on my balcony at night like this calmed me, but for some reason it just made me more anxious. I remember the countless times where Blair and I would sit out here for hours, throwing stuff on innocent people walking on the sidewalk below us, then running inside, giggling madly.

_Blair._ Ugh. Just the thought of her made me sick to my stomach. We had grown up our entire lives inseparable and now all I wanted to do was avoid her. Which of course is hard to do when you're dealing with someone like Blair Waldorf.

I had just got off the phone with her a little while ago after listening to her bitch about me randomly leaving her at lunch, and then going into every little detail about this stupid fucking party I'm supposed to be excited for. Of course, she planned on going all out, rambling on and on about the 'beach theme' and convincing someone to let them fill a ballroom with sand. Which would probably cost an obscene amount of money, not that Blair ever cared about the price of anything.

Birthday parties used to be something we looked forward to. Blair and I would spend hours and hours planning out our sweet sixteen's when we were only 8 years old. Nate would sit there and make fun of us, but we never cared. Now all I wanted to do was spend my birthday alone, or with my brother. Hell, I'd even rather spend my birthday with a group of complete strangers than spend it with Blair and Nate. _Ha._ How fucked up is that?

I still couldn't believe everything had changed so quickly. It almost made me regret the night that I first kissed Nate, which seemed so long ago. Nate, Blair and I had all been out and decided to crash at my house. Blair fell asleep and well, the kiss between Nate and I just kind of happened. The kiss was unexpected, but the feelings that I got from the kiss were even more unexpected. I was going to tell Blair, but then the whole 'dad being gay' thing happened, and then she confessed her love for Nate to me. What was I supposed to do? "Oh Blair, I know your family life is hell right now, and you just confessed to me that you're in love with Nate and want to be with him, but we kind of made out last night and now we're going to be together. Sorry. Love you."

Of course not, Blair would probably have stabbed my eye out with a pencil. So, I helped my best friend get the guy that I fell in love with. What a great idea that turned out to be.

I took another deep breath. I loved Blair, I really did. And I wanted her to be happy, but what about me? I kissed him first, and then I selflessly helped her get him. And yes, after I helped her get him, I slept with him. But still, shouldn't I get any 'good friend' points for giving him up in the first place?

Of course not. I could only imagine Blair's response to that excuse. Ha. No matter what way you worded it, I still got the worst best friend of the year award.

Suddenly, I heard someone shout my name from down below on the side walk. I leaned over the railing to see Nate staring up at me. Great. Just what I need.

"Hey Natie," I attempted a smile.

"Can I come up?" He shouted back in response.

I bit my lip and glanced back into my empty house. My parents still weren't home from Connecticut, and being alone with Nate probably wasn't the best idea.

I glanced back down and saw the boy that I had grown up with staring hopefully back up at me. What the hell.

"Sure, I'll buzz you up," I said with a smile, throwing my cigarette on the ground and quickly running inside.

I stopped and glanced at myself quickly in the mirror. My hair was down and slightly wind-blown from sitting outside, my face was makeup less, and I was wearing black soffe shorts and a teal tank top. I pretty much looked like shit.

_Yeah. Right._

But that was one thing I loved about Nate, I didn't care what I looked like when I was around him.

When I opened the door to my town house, my eyes instantly locked with a pair of familiar green ones. I gave him a hug and led him into the living room. We both settled comfortably on the couch, right next to each other.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke, "So, when do your parents get back?"

"Not until next week," I replied, glancing at the floor.

"You sure you won't starve by then? You know you can't live on ice cream," he said with a smile.

I giggled and rolled my eyes, "I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"I can tell by that mountain of dishes in your kitchen sink. You're a terrible maid," he said with a wink.

"Okay Nate, last time I checked, your room was disgusting."

He lightly pushed my arm, "Oh please, like your room's any better. I bet if I went up there right now there'd be crap all over the place.

He was right, of course. But the last place Nate needed to be was my bedroom. I quickly got away from that topic, "well if you're such an amazing cleaner then how about you help me do the dishes."

"If I help you do the dishes what do I get in return?" A flirtatious smile spread across his face.

"Um, first of all, you'll be graced with my presence and second of all, it's my birthday month so you don't need anything in return."

"Whoa, wait a minute, who said you get a whole month for your birthday? You're not that special, princess." He was staring at me with a huge smirk on his face.

A hurt look spread across my face, "Nathanial Archibald, are you saying I'm not special enough for you to do this dishes with me and not get anything in return," I said with a pout. I tried to keep my face serious, failing miserably as a huge grin broke out on my face.

"Okay, okay I'll wash dishes with you, lets go," he grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen.

Before long we had a system set up- I washed, he rinsed and no one dried. Yes, my family actually had two dish washers, neither of which I knew how to use.

"So," Nate began while rinsing another dish, "You pretty much bailed on lunch today after me and Chuck showed up."

I looked down into the sink and swallowed hard before responding, "yeah, I know… but like I said, I just had a thing to do."

The excuse sounded fake, even to me. I glanced over at Nate to see him looking at me skeptically.

"Serena, we both know why you left that table. And look, I really hate how things have been between me you and Blair lately, it's ridiculous. You said you wanted to just put everything behind us and be normal, but you've been acting the farthest thing from normal. Why don't we just tell-"

I quickly interrupted him, "No. Nate we're not telling anyone anything. I can't do that to her. I'm sorry, I know I've been acting weird, but that's just because I need time to just adjust and get over it. Give me a week or two and I'll be back to normal. Everything will be back to normal. Can we just not talk about it anymore?"

He stared at me for a moment, his face serious, before responding, "Why did you do it?"

I looked at him confused, "Do what?"

"You kissed me that night in your room. You said you could kiss me forever. You told me eventually you were going to tell Blair about us, but you just kept putting it off. And then at Chuck's party, you left the hot tub, made out with Chuck and practically pushed me into being with Blair. And then, once I'm with Blair, you have sex with me and then afterwards try and pretend it never happened. What the fuck Serena? I don't understand what the hell you want from me."

I stared at him for a moment, shocked at his sudden outburst. It took me a minute to regain my thoughts before speaking again.

"Nate, Blair's going through such a hard time. And she told me that she realized she was in love with you. And that she wanted to be with you, and… and I don't know, she asked me to help her…" I trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"So what? Because Blair wants me you just drop everything and forget we ever happened? Obviously you didn't care about me that much, I guess it's a good thing I'm with Blair after all."

The words hurt me more than they should have. It felt like a slap across the face. I was about to yell back at him. Tell him that he was wrong, that I cared about him more than he would ever know. But I stopped myself.

"You're right. It is a good thing you're with Blair," I said softly, not looking at his face.

We both fell into an uncomfortable silence. I'd wash the dish and then hand it to him without saying a word. This went on for a few minutes before he finally set a dish down and turned to me.

"Can we please, _please_ not let this ruin our friendship like this. Because I need you in my life as a friend, even if it's only a friend."

I turned to look at him, his eyes were serious with a trace of sadness in them. I took a deep breath and nodded my head. He pulled me into a hug and I mumbled into his chest, "I don't know what I'd do without a loser like you. And plus who else could I talk into doing my dishes for me."

I heard him laugh, "So I'm a loser, huh?" I nodded my head, "the biggest one I know."

A mischievous glint came to his eyes, "Oh yeah?"

I didn't trust the look on his face, "Nate, don't even think about it."

A smile slowly spread across his face. He quickly grabbed the spray nozzle attached to the sink and had me soaked within seconds. He threw the nozzle down and ran into the living room, with a dripping me chasing after him.

"Nathanial Archibald you better run," I screamed as he darted down the hall to the dining room and circled back around into the living room.

I finally caught up with him and tackled him to the ground, grabbing my long blonde, now soaked, hair and wringing it all over him. He laughed as he tried to push me off of him, just getting himself more wet in the process.

"Okay, okay," he said, trying to catch his breath, "truce. Now get your soggy ass off of me." I giggled and slowly stood up and helped him up off the floor.

"Just kidding," he shouted, as he tackled me and wrestling me to the ground, this time he was on top.

"Nate, you freaking suck, get off of me," I said, squirming underneath him.

He laughed, "Nope. Not until you repeat after me, 'Nathanial Archibald is the most amazing guy I know. Someday I hope to even come close to his level of awesomeness'."

I snorted and started cracking up, "Yeah right, I'm already a million times more amazing than you."

**Nate's POV**

"Oh really," I said, a huge smile on my face, "I don't think so."

"Well I know so," she replied, sticking her tongue out at me like a five year old, "now get off of me."

I looked down at the girl beneath me. The girl that was so familiar to me, so comfortable. The girl I had watched grow up. She was soaked from head to toe, her blonde hair a tangled mess, her blue eyes shining brightly, a huge smile on her face. I studied her eyes closely, noticing tiny beads of water on her eye lashes, my eyes slowly trailed down to her lips, I could almost remember how sweet they tasted and how much I wanted to taste them again. I slowly glanced back up to her eyes to find her staring back at me, questioningly. The playful mood that had just been there was suddenly gone, and I found myself staring down at her lips again.

I slowly moved my face closer to hers, I noticed her bite down on her lip, but she didn't push me away. Our faces moved closer and closer together until our lips were only a centimeter apart. She closed her eyes and started titling her head to the side when I felt a vibration in my back pocket.

I pulled my cell phone out and glanced at the name on the screen. _Blair._

I looked back down at Serena, the look in her eyes told me that she already knew who was calling without me saying it. I hit the ignore button, put my phone back into my pocket and stared down at her, waiting for her to say something.

She kept her eyes closed for a few moments, just laying there on the living room floor, with me still on top of her. She took and deep breath and opened her eyes.

"You need to leave. Now."

The level of harshness in her voice surprised me.

"But Serena, I thought," I began, but she quickly interrupted me.

"Nate. I'm seriously. Get out of here."

She pushed me off her, stood up, walked over to the front door and opened it. I stared at her for a moment, but she wouldn't meet my gaze. I sighed, got up and walked out the door. The second I was outside the doorway, she slammed the door shut and I heard the lock click. I waited for a moment and listened to her footsteps walk away from the door.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I had been so close. So fucking close.

_I believe the old saying is, "Close but no cigar." Sorry, N – maybe next time._

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**A/N: **You didn't think I'd let you have a real S and N hook up that easily did you? Haha. I think the next chapter is going to be a more Blair/Chuck/Nate centered chapter and hopefully it'll be up sometime this weekend, as long as I'm not working every day and as long as you REVIEW. I need to know you guys are out there and enjoying it, it really does motivate me to update faster. Oh, and what do you guys think about bringing Dan into the story? Let moi know!


	6. Stupid

**Disclaimer: **Do I even have to say it?

**A/N:** YAY, it's Wednesday! Which of course means a new Gossip Girl tonight. Let's all join hands a pray for a Serena/Nate scene. Anyways, sorry this is a little later than I expected, school's been kicking my ass lately. Like I said in the previous chapter, this one is all Blair/Nate with appearances by Chuck. It's a little on the short side, but I'm exhausted, and I just wanted to get an update done, even if it was a short one. Shutting up now, enjoy.

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Chapter Five – Stupid

**Blair's POV**

"Hey this is Nate, leave me a…"

_What the fuck._ This was the fifth time I had gotten his stupid voicemail. I hung up my phone and threw it across the room. Stupid fucking boyfriend.

I collapsed onto my bed, almost landing on Kitty Minky in the process, the kitten my father had bought me as a way of saying, "Sorry I'm running off to France to live with my new boyfriend sweetie." Ugh. Serena and Nate had really picked a bad time to start acting like fucking weirdos. What was wrong with them anyways?

Frustrated, I walked across the room, grabbed my phone and sent a text message to Serena asking her why the hell she hadn't called me since she bailed on lunch. The second I hit send, the maid entered my room.

"Miss. Blair, there's a Mister Bass here to see you," she said in a heavy accent.

I rolled my eyes, _great._ The only person that comes to visit me now is Chuck – I didn't realize my life had really gone that low.

"Send him in," I replied and quickly picked up a few things off the floor. The next time I looked up I saw Chuck leaning in my doorway, a smug smile of his face.

"Cleaning just for me," he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You wish. What are you doing here anyways, I don't remember inviting you."

"Well I did come here to tell you some information you might find interesting, but if you have something else you'd rather do…" he trailed off suggestively.

"In your dreams," I scoffed, "Just give me the information and leave."

"Well if you aren't going to ask nicely…"

I quickly got up and shoved him against the wall. "Bass, now is not the time to fuck around with me. Now, what do you have to tell me?"

"Up against the wall, I didn't know you liked it that way," he replied with a wink.

"You know what, forget it, just leave," I said, walking back over towards my bed and sitting down, letting my head rest in my hands.

"Okay, okay, calm the fuck down," he walked over and sat down next to me on my bed, "On the way over here I captured an interesting picture."

I looked at him confused, "Of what? And I swear to God if it's something dirty…" I trialed off as I looked at the picture he had brought up on his phone. A picture of Nate leaving Serena's house. After she had been trying to get a hold of both of them for hours.

A few moments later I finally found my voice, "That was today?"

"Yep. Just a few hours ago actually, and he came out looking pretty depressed, oh and he was soaked."

"Excuse me," I stared at him, thinking that maybe I had heard him wrong.

"Yeah, his clothes were pretty much completely wet, I guess the shower sex with Serena didn't go so well."

I slapped his arm, "You're an ass. Get out of here."

"You sure you want me to go, because you know the offer is always on the table," he said, lightly touching my arm.

I quickly slapped his hand away, "Seriously Chuck, go."

He walked to the door and turned around, "Blair, if something is going on between them, just so you know, you deserve better than that. A lot better."

I let out a small laugh, "Yeah, thanks."

He gave me a smile before turning and leaving.

I laid back on my bed and stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes. What the hell was Nate doing at Serena's house. Hooking up? I shuddered at the thought. What else would they be doing? But would Nate really do that to me? Would _Serena_ do that to me? I could feel the lump in my throat starting to form. I grabbed my phone and quickly dialed Serena's number. Of course, it went straight to voicemail. I hung up and dialed Nate's, only getting his voicemail again.

Stupid fucking boyfriend. Stupid fucking best friend.

_Don't worry B, the truth always comes out, even if it's one you don't want to know._

**Nate's POV**

My phone vibrated in my pocked once again. I glanced down at the screen, it was Blair, of course. She'd been calling me for the past hour and I had ignored it each time. I should have felt bad for ignoring her, she had done nothing wrong, I just wasn't in the mood to put up with her shit. I wasn't in the mood for anything.

I slowly continued walking down the street towards Central Park. I didn't care what time it was, or that the street lights were already on.

I still couldn't believe what had happened at Serena's. I was about to kiss her and, more importantly, she was going to let me. That had to mean something. I flipped open my phone and dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail. I sighed and slid my phone back into my pocket and collapsed in Sheep Meadow. It was nearly empty, except for a few people scattered across the huge field.

I closed my eyes and let my thoughts wander. I remembered all the times Blair, Serena and me had come to Central Park. Serena would always go on and on about how excited she was to feed the ducks, while Blair complained what the heat was going to do to her hair. That was always the difference between Serena and Blair. Blair always planned things, always made an effort to look perfect, even when she didn't need to. Serena on the other hand was so carefree, so absolutely beautiful without even trying.

After a few moments of silence, my cell phone once again began to vibrate in my pocket. To my surprise, it wasn't Blair, it was Chuck. I hesitated for a moment before answering the phone.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"I don't know, you tell me," he replied.

"What's that supposed to mean," I quickly said, trying my best not to sound defensive.

"I saw you leaving the van der Woodsen's house today. Having a little one on one time with your girlfriend's best friend?" Chuck said, I could practically see the evil smile spread across his face.

"Chuck, incase you forgot, Serena has been one of my best friend's since I was a little kid. I didn't realize I wasn't allowed to hang out with her."

"Oh please, cut the shit man. You can't fool me. Was she any good? I mean we all know she's fucking gorgeous, so I'm assuming she'd be great in bed, maybe I should find out for myself."

My hands immediately clenched into fists. It took me a moment to regain my control before I answered, "Chuck, fuck off, you know I'd never do that to Blair."

"Whatever you say Nathaniel, I'll find out the truth sooner or later."

I rolled my eyes and hung up the phone. Fucking asshole.

It took me a few minutes before I realized that Chuck had probably already said the same thing to Blair, which would explain her constantly trying to call me, which also meant I'd have about 10,000 questions to answer the next time I finally talked to her. I sighed, I don't remember when being Blair's boyfriend started to feel like a job, but it was really starting to suck.

I opened my phone and dialed Blair's number. Not surprisingly, she answered on the first ring.

"Where the fuck have you been all day," she yelled through the phone.

"Busy," I replied. I really wasn't in the mood to put up with her shit.

_Uh. Her shit? She's not the one cheating on you with your best friend._

"Busy? You haven't answered the phone for hours, Chuck sees you coming out of my best friend's house soaking _wet_, for God knows what reason, and all you can say is that you were busy. Seriously Nate?"

Stupid fucking Chuck.

"Look, Blair, I don't want to fight. Can I just come over and we'll talk about everything," I replied hopefully.

"No Nate. You can't come over and talk about everything. Because if you really wanted to talk about everything you would have fucking called me back hours ago," she said, followed by the click of her hanging up the phone.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breathe. I was in way, _way_ over my head.

_Hopefully you have a life vest N, perhaps in the form of a certain blonde beauty?_


	7. Shopping

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gossip Girl, if I did we'd be getting a new episode tomorrow night.

**A/N:** I've been in the mood to update all day, and now that all the holiday festivities of the day are over with, I'm updating. I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

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Chapter Six – Shopping

**Serena's POV**

I opened my mouth and let out a huge yawn as the sunlight leaked into my bedroom. I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled the covers higher over my head. I sighed, it was Friday and school started the upcoming Monday, which meant I would have to see Blair and Nate pretty much every single day. That thought alone was enough to make me not want to leave my bed. Eventually I rolled over and stumbled into the bathroom and got a quick shower. When I had finally got dressed and dried my hair I walked over and grabbed my phone off the counter – 6 missed calls, two were from Nate and the rest were from Blair. I pressed send and entered my voicemail password, Nate's worried voice soon filled my ears.

"Hey Serena, um… I guess Chuck saw me leaving your house yesterday and of course, you know Chuck, he felt the need to share that with Blair. And of course, Blair overreacted. Just warning you."

I sighed. Great. A few moments later, Blair's voice was playing from my phone.

"Seriously, you really need to learn how to pick up your fucking phone. I need to talk to you, in case you've forgotten, you're sweet sixteen party is tomorrow, we need to finish up a few minor details. Call me when you're ass wakes up."

Fuck. Ever since the whole 'almost-kissing Nate' situation yesterday, I had completely forgotten about the party. Not that I was even remotely excited to prance around at another stupid event, while one hundred of my 'closest friends' wished me a happy birthday, kissed my ass and bought me meaningless expensive gifts.

_Sounds like fun to me._

I sighed and made my way downstairs into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water and made my way into the living room.

"It's about time you woke up."

My heart jumped and that resulted in me spitting water all over the place.

"Jesus Christ, Blair. Are you trying to give me heart attack? What are you doing here?"

"Well since you obviously have a problem with calling me back, I decided I'd just show up, we've got a shit load of stuff to do to get ready for tomorrow," she replied, tapping her foot impatiently.

I stared at her for a moment, not really knowing what to say. I was expecting her to start bombarding me with questions about why Nate was at my house yesterday, but she didn't. After she realized I wasn't going to respond, she grabbed my hand and pulled me to the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Shopping. The birthday girl needs an outfit for tomorrow, and who else could help her pick it out but her best friend," she giggled. Something was definitely wrong here. Blair was acting too nice.

"Okay…" I said hesitantly as I followed her outside.

She quickly dragged me into a waiting limo and before I knew it we were driving down 5th Avenue.

It was silent for a few moments before I heard Blair speak, "So… what did you do yesterday?" I glanced over at her, she was staring at me carefully. I knew this was coming eventually. It was like she was studying my face, hoping to catch a glimpse of guiltiness, hopefully she'd find none.

I cleared my throat and tried to sound as casual as possible, "Oh you know, just bummed around, watched a few movies."

She raised her eyebrows skeptically, "Is that all?"

I sighed, "Pretty much. Nate stopped over for a little bit." Her eyes lit up as soon as I said this, I could tell that that is what she had been waiting for.

"Oh. Why'd he stop over?" She was once again staring at my face intently.

"He just wanted to check up on me since my family's still not home from Ridgefield and the maid's still on vacation. He wanted to make sure I wasn't starving or whatever," I finished, flashing her a small smile.

Her face seemed to relax a bit. She returned my smile, "Wow, you aren't going to believe this, but Chuck had me totally convinced that you two were hooking up behind my back, funny right?"

_Absolutely hilarious._

I laughed nervously, "Ha, yeah. That's pretty crazy. Please don't tell me you'd actually believe that. You know I would never do that to you."

"I know. I guess I'm just under a lot of stress with all my family stuff, I never know what to believe anymore. I'm sorry I doubted you," she leaned over and gave me small hug, "Oh look, we're here. Now, let's find you an outfit." She winked as she opened the limo door and jumped out onto the sidewalk. I let a small, genuine smile spread across my face, I really did miss my best friend.

**Nate's POV**

I walked slowly down the sidewalk, glancing in at all the shop's windows. Serena hadn't answered any of my calls since last night's incident, so I was determined to buy her something amazing, something that would at least make her want to talk to me. And of course, I had waited until the day before the party to try and find this present.

Minutes turned into hours as I went in and out of every store around me. Sure there were nice things. Expensive clothes, purses, and extravagant diamond necklaces. All things that Blair would love. But I felt that all those things were too superficial for Serena. I sighed and put my head in my hands, trying to think of some place I hadn't visited yet. Suddenly, I got an idea. I grabbed a cab as quickly as I could and rode farther down town.

Two hours later, I walked out of a store, a small box in my hand and a triumphant smile on my face. I had finally found the perfect gift.

I caught another cab and headed back towards my townhouse, smiling the whole way home. I couldn't wait to see Serena's face when she opened my present.

When the cab came to a stop in front of my townhouse, I got out and quickly made my way up the front steps when I heard a familiar laugh. Serena's laugh. I glanced across the street to see Blair and Serena walked along the side walk side by side, with well over ten shopping bags in each of their hands. They both were cracking up as Serena playfully shoved Blair away from her.

Nate smiled sadly, and felt a sudden wave a guilt rush over him. Those were his girls, his best friends. They all needed each other, but because he couldn't control himself, he had a feeling he was going to tear them all apart.

**Serena's POV**

"At least I never dressed up as an alligator for Halloween in third grade," Blair said, her voice still shaking with laughter.

"What are you talking about? I never did that."

"Oh please Serena. Ever since we took that fieldtrip to the zoo, you were obsessed with alligators. You swore you were going to live with them one day," she replied, cracking up again.

I smiled at my best friend, shoving her away from me, "Whatever, Mrs. Thomas Simms."

Blair's mouth opened in shock.

"Shut up," she squealed, "I was in first grade, I didn't know any better."

"Aw, you two would have made such a cute couple, as long as his wart didn't get in the way," I replied, laughing hysterically.

The whole afternoon had gone on like this. I was glad Blair had convinced me to go out with her. Not only had we spent an insane amount of money on back to school clothes, but we'd spent hours remembering old times and cracking up.

_Now if only things would stay that way._

"At least I have better taste now, I mean just look at Nate," she said with a smile. At the mention of Nate's name, my stomach dropped. I looked down at the ground as I replied, "yeah… Nate really is a catch, you're lucky B."

She glanced over at me with a concerned look on her face, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just… I don't know. I mean I know I'm good at the whole 'being single and partying thing,' but I just think that maybe it's time I try out the relationship thing."

"Uh. Well considering you're Serena van der Woodsen, you could pick any guy off the street, ask him to be your boyfriend and I'm pretty sure he'd worship the ground you walk on," Blair said with a smile.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever you say."

"I'm serious! I mean if you're serious about the whole boyfriend thing you know I could set you up with someone. I bet I could even find someone for your party tomorrow night," she said, smiling that she'd come up with the idea.

"Blair, I don't think that's-"

"It's perfect. And you can't say no, you have to let me do this for you. Blair's dating service," she let out another squeal, "don't worry, I'll find you the perfect guy."

I gave her a small smile. Too bad I already knew the perfect guy the perfect guy for me.

_Something tells me Blair won't be putting that guy on the list of 'Eligible Bachlors.'_

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**A/N:** I know, it's still kind of short, but I get extra points for updating on Christmas. The next chapter will be part one of the party, and you can definitely expect some stuff to go down. Reviews would make a pretty awesome Christmas present. ;)


	8. Beach

**A/N:** I _finally_ got my freaking computer back, don't even get me started on the gayness of my parents this past month. I switched the writing POV to third person. There's some swearing going on in this chapter, not a big deal. This is definitely the longest chapter yet. Enjoy.

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Chapter Seven – Beach

Her golden hair cascaded over her bare shoulders as she ran down the shoreline towards him. She smiled as his tanned face and green eyes came closer. He smiled and held his arms open, ready to catch her. When she finally reached him their bodies came crashing together in a rather clumsy hug. She hung her arms tightly around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. When she finally pulled back to look at him he was already focusing on her lips. Slowly his face inched towards hers…

"Wake your ass up, Serena." Blair Waldorf shook her best friend violently for the third time. Slowly, the gorgeous blonde in the bed began to stir. She opened one eye and noticed Blair standing there tapping her foot impatiently. Serena van der Woodsen let out a huge sigh and pulled the covers over her head, trying to go back to the dream she had just been having moments earlier.

_You mean the one about the boy.. who's girlfriend happens to be standing right next to your bed?_

Serena was about to slip back into slumber when the sheets were sudden yanked off her bed. She instantly sat up, glaring at the culprit with the warm blankets in her hand. "Blair, it's only 10 o'clock," Serena said, sounding a lot like a child, not that she cared at the moment. She collapsed back down on her bed and closed her eyes.

"Tonight's your party and we have tons of things to do, so get up," the brunette replied, sounding much too cheerful for Serena's taste. She looked up at Blair who was still impatiently tapping her toe. "Can't you just do all that shit yourself? Just tell me when the party starts and I'll just show up or whatever…" Serena mumbled, putting her head underneath a pillow.

Blair yanked the pillow off her best friend's head and grabbed her arm, pulling her off the bed completely. "I know you're not exactly a morning person, but you're not getting out of this. Now you're going to go in the bathroom and get a shower and I'll be waiting for you when you get out," Blair said with a smile as she shoved Serena into her large bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She listened and her Serena grumble something that sounded a lot like "bossy." She laughed to herself. Serena had never been a morning person, Blair knew and loved that, it was the only time the blonde wasn't carefree and happy.

Blair made her way downstairs and into the kitchen where she had prepared, well.. more like bought, breakfast for Serena. After breakfast she'd send Serena in a car off to a spa for the rest of the afternoon while Blair finished organizing things for the party that night. Serena had been acting different lately, and not a good different. Blair hoped that tonight she'd catch a glimpse of normal Serena, the one everyone knew and loved.

She walked over to the kitchen table and sat down, flipped out her cell phone in the process. She scrolled through her contacts and pressed send when she reached Nate's number. After a few moments, a sleepy voice came to Blair's ears. "Hello?" Blair had to stop herself from laughing, no matter how mad at him she was, the sound of his voice always seemed to make her forget. "Hey sleepy head," she replied, "you're usually always up by now."

"I know, I've just been having a lot of trouble falling asleep lately."

"I'm sorry babe, family problems?"

"I don't know.. I guess.."

"Well I'm here if you need anything. I just wanted to make sure you knew what's going on for tonight. After I finish getting things set up, I'll probably just come back to Serena's house to get ready with her and then we'll swing over to Chuck's house in the limo around 8 o'clock to pick up you, Chuck and Carter and then.."

"Wait- Carter?" Nate was instantly awake. Why the fuck was Carter coming with them anywhere?

"Yeah… Carter is Serena's date for tonight, didn't I mention that?" She heard the creak of his bed in the background, the image of him rolling out of bed with just boxers on came to her mind and her cheeks instantly flushed.

"No.. no you didn't mention that. You do know that Chuck has a problem with that guy right?"

"I know.. but he'll get over it. It's Serena's birthday."

"Whatever. Maybe you should have just let Serena pick her own date."

Blair was surprised at the bitterness in his voice.

"Nate, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I gotta go Blair, I'll just see you tonight."

She was about to reply when she heard a click on the other line.

Seriously? _Seriously?_ What. The. Fuck. Blair got up and started pacing around the kitchen trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with her boyfriend. Last time she checked, boys didn't PMS. She was barely resisting the urge the chuck something across the room when Serena appeared in the kitchen, fully dressed and looking gorgeous as always. "Uh, are you okay? You look a little.. um... not happy," the blonde said as she eyed Blair cautiously. Blair instantly put her smile back on, "I'm fine. And a car is waiting outside to take you to the spa. I'll see you when you get back."

Serena was about to protest when Blair pulled her into a quick hug and then shoved her out the door, locking it behind her. Serena slowly walked over to the car, got in and leaned her head against the window as the car took off down the street, her mind floating back to the dream she had been having before Blair had waken her. Nate's face quickly entered her mind and just as quickly, she pushed it out. She sighed, maybe a day at the spa was exactly what she needed.

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Blair had already laid out each of their outfits by the time Serena's car arrived back at her house at 7 o'clock. Serena stepped out looking even more amazing then before. _ If that's even possible._ Her face was glowing, the work of a high-quality facial. Her hair had been high lighted, making her beautiful blonde hair stand out even more. And for the first time this past week, Serena actually looked relax. Blair let out a small squeal and ran over to Serena, pulling her into a hug. "You look like a fucking model S, tonight's going to be amazing." Serena spun around and flashed her infamous 'you know you love me smile' and pulled Blair into another hug. "That was exactly what I needed, you have no idea how amazing I feel. Thanks B. Now lets go get ready for this party." She grabbed Blair's hand and pulled her into the house. Forget about Nate and what had happened, it was her god damn birthday party and she was going to have fun.

The two girls ran upstairs, giggling the entire time. When they entered Serena's bedroom, she noticed the swim suit's laying out on the bed. Serena turned to her best friend, eyebrows raised skeptically, "We're wearing swim suits?" Blair rolled her eyes, "I told you, it was beach themed. It's the end of summer blowout, it wouldn't be right if it wasn't beach themed." Serena lighted smacked herself on the forehead, "Of course it just _had_ to be beached themed, what was I thinking," she replied sarcastically. Blair slapped her arm, "Just shut up and get ready."

Serena stepped out of the bathroom ten minutes later, and twirled around. "Well Miss. Party Planner, how do I look?"

Blair studied the blonde for a moment. The ripped jean skirt came to her upper thighs, showing off her long, tanned legs. A small jeweled belly ring was hanging in the middle of a perfectly flat stomach. A plain black string bikini stop clung perfectly to Serena's upper body. Her makeup was done lightly, not that she ever needed any makeup to begin with. And her long blonde hair was pulled into low braided pigtails that reached past the blonde's chest, going perfectly with the beach themed look.

Blair felt a rush of jealousy surge through her body. She looked fucking perfect, that's how she looked. Blair quickly pushed that feeling back and smiled at her friend, "You look great S, try not to break too many hearts tonight." Serena gave her a mischieveious smile, "I'll try my best."

Blair finished tying the back on her teal string bikini and glanced at the clock on the nightstand, 7:45, which meant the limo would be there at any second. She glanced in the mirror and studied her appearance one last time. Satisfied, she turned to face Serena who was slipping on a black pair of sandals, "You ready?" "Definitely."

The two girls smiled at each other, then ran downstairs and outside and into the awaiting limo.

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Nate Archibald continued pacing around Chuck Bass's large suit at the Palace Hotel, because he was positive that if he sat down for more than few seconds, there was a chance he was going to explode.

Carter had arrived there just moments before, cocky and arrogant, definitely not Serena's type. He didn't understand why Blair felt the need to control everyone's life, Serena could choose her own guys, better guys than Carter Baizen.

_You mean a guy like you, N?_

Nate glanced at his watch, 7:45, which meant the girls would be picking them up soon. Thank God. He let his eyes wander over to the couch where Carter was sitting, arms crossed, watching the TV screen in front of him. Once again, Nate felt the anger surge through him.

He paced his way over to the bathroom and glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked tired, he knew that's probably because he was. He had spent most of his nights worrying about Blair and Serena and his family. He sighed and reached into his swim suit pocket, making sure the small box that contained Serena's gift was still there. He had thought of plenty of different things to say to her when he gave her the present, of course all of them sucked.

"Nathaniel," he heard Chuck call, "the limo's here."

He glanced in the mirror one last time, before turning and walking out the door. Here goes nothing.

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Serena smiled happily, the champagne they had been drinking on the way over here had clearly taken an effect on her already. She glanced over to her left at Blair, who was sitting a few feet away from her chatting away on a cell phone. She glanced down on the farther side of the limo where Kati and Is were happily talking to each other, wearing matching swimsuits with ridiculously oversized sunglasses placed on top of their heads. Suddenly the limo door opened and in came Chuck, Carter and Nate. Chuck instantly plopped down in between the K and I, wrapping his arms around each other them, not surprisingly.

Nate glanced over at Serena, his eyes slowly traveling down her body. She felt her face get hot and looked down at the ground, but not before briefly pausing to look at Nate's sculpted abs. He slowly sat down in between Serena and Blair, who was still yelling into her phone. He instantly felt the warmth of Serena's bare skin touch his side, and his mind flashed back to the night that seemed like so long ago. He felt Serena tense up and he glanced over at her. He caught her gaze, but only for a second - she immediately turned and faced Carter, smiling and laughing at something he had said. Nate looked down and saw Carter's hand slowly wrap around Serena's bare waist. Nate felt his face grow hot and resisted the urge to get up and punch Carter in his face.

"Nate, are you okay?" Nate turned and faced Blair who was looking at him, eyes full of concern. "Yeah.. I'm fine," he replied, giving her a light kiss on the lips and she leaned into him, smiling. "I've missed you," Blair said softly, "I haven't really gotten to see you these past few days." Nate smiled and kissed the top of Blair's head, her hair smelled faintly of strawberries. "I've missed you too." And as he looked down into her doe eyes, he realized her actually had missed her.

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After what seemed like for ever, the limo finally came to a stop outside of a large hotel. They all filed out of the limo and followed Blair inside. The elegant marble flooring of the hotel lobby made them all feel out of place with their flip flops and swim suits. Blair walked up to the front desk, whispered something to the hotel manger, then told everyone to follow her as she skipped off down a hallway, insisting that Serena be in the front of the group with her.

As they all made their way down the hallway, the sound of music began to fill their ears, getting increasingly louder as they continued walking. Suddenly Blair turned around and grabbed Serena's shoulders, pulling her off to the side and letting the rest of the group continue down the hallway.

"I just wanted to tell you happy sweet sixteen and you should party your ass off tonight because you deserve it. I love you S."

Blair pulled Serena into a hug, grabbed her hand and quickly sped off down the remainder of the hallway. When they got to the end, Serena let out a huge gasp.

There was a huge ballroom.. filled with well over two hundred people and… sand? The floor was completely covered with sand. Seriously? Serena turned to Blair, "How the hell did you pull this off?" Blair smiled back at her, "I'm me. It wasn't that hard."

And with that, Blair ran off, hugging different people as she went, and before long she disappeared from Serena's sight.

Serena slowly took a few more steps into the room and took it all in. There as a huge DJ at one end of the ballroom, music blasting from the speakers. At the other end there was an exit to the outside pool area, along with a huge food table, followed by yet another table with presents piled on top of it. Pictures of Serena ranging from baby pictures to recent pictures were hanging on the walls, along with a huge "Happy Sweet Sixteen S!" banner. A huge smile broke out on Serena's face as she felt the sand beneath her feet, she couldn't believe Blair had gone through all this trouble.

"She really does go overboard doesn't she?" Serena heard a familiar voice behind her say. She turned around and saw Nate's green eyes staring back at her. She laughed, "Yeah, but I love her for it." "Yeah… me too…" They both trailed off into an uneasy silence. Serena instantly looked at the ground, avoiding both Nate's eyes and abs. After a few moments, Nate lightly grabbed Serena's chin, causing her to meet his gaze. He studied her eyes for a moments before he spoke, "Look Serena, I need to tell you…"

Suddenly Carter appeared at Serena's side. "Hey Serena, do you wanna dance?" He looked at her chest as he spoke, and Nate felt his fists clench at his sides.

"Uh, yeah.. sure. I'll catch up with you later Nate," Serena said, giving him one last glance before walking towards the dance floor with Carter.

Nate sighed, he had no idea how he was going to get Serena alone or what he was even going to say to her, he just knew he had to.

He felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around him from behind. "Hey babe, you ready to dance?" He glanced over to see Blair at his side. He looked out onto the floor where Serena and Carter were now easily moving to the pounding bass of the music. "Yeah.. sure let's go." Blair grabbed his hand and slowly led him out onto the floor and stopped directly next to Serena and Carter. It was definitely going to be a long night.

_So what's it going to be N, sink or swim?_

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**A/N: ** Like I said, this was definitely the longest chapter. And I switched to third person, let me know you prefer it that way, because I'm undecided if I like it better this way or not. I felt the chapter kind of sucked towards the end, because it's 4 in the morning and I'm tired and just wanted to finish this so I could go to bed. But I guess I'll let you guys be the judge of that. (I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes. Like I said, it's 4AM, I'm half asleep.) I've already started on the next chapter, so REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW and I'll eventually post the next one. Thank you to all of you that are still reading this, even if I am a crappy updater.


	9. Present

Chapter 8 - Present

Nate Archibald knew he hated Carter Baizen ever since he broke Nate's crayons in kindergarden. What Nate didn't know is how much more he would hate him as he watched Serena's body sway against him. Ever since they had made their way out onto the dance floor, Nate had been trying to focuse on Blair, he really had. But he couldn't tear his eyes away from Serena. There was something about the way she danced that was captivating. Her blonde hair, alreadying beginning to fall out of the braids, was flying everywhere as she moved her hips easily with the beat of the music. Her arms were up in the arm, beads of sweat were already forming on her forehead, giving her skin that just-out-of-the-shower glow. Nate couldn't deny it, she looked _sexy_.

_S looks sexy? No way, really?_

Suddenly the song's upbeat rhythm changed to a slow song. Blair easily found her way into Nate's arms and rested her head on his shoulder. She loved him. She loved everything about him. The way he still smelled so amazingly good, even after being out on the dance floor for an hour. The way his face looked so adorable when he was confused. The way he was always worrying about someone other than himself. Someday, after they both graduated from Yale, they'd get married. They'd have the perfect wedding. Serena would be her maid of honor, even if it meant she had to dance with Chuck, who would end up being the best man. She'd deal with just because it was Blair's special day. Then she and Nate would move into the perfect house, have the perfect family and live happily ever after.

_Sounds... perfect, just be careful B, I'd keep an eye on your maid of honor._

Nate held Blair close as their bodies swayed to the music. Directly behind Blair, Nate could easily see Serena and Carter also swaying to the music, Serena's head resting on Carter's shoulder. Suddenly Nate's emerald green eyes met Serena's navy blue ones. Surprisingly, she didn't look away. He studied her face carefully, looking for any signs that would give away what she was thinking, he found none. Suddenly, Blair pulled out of his arms. He looked down at her nervously, had she seen him staring at Serena?

"I just remember I left my damn purse in the limo. I'm going to go out to the lobby to see if I can get ahold of the limo service, I'll be back soon." She tip-toed up and lightly kissed his lips before turning and exiting the ballroom. Nate glanced back over at Serena who was still staring at him intently, but a sad look was now apparent in her eyes. Nate debated for a moment, then stepped forward and lightly tapped Carter's shoulder. Carter turned to face Nate. "Do you mind if I cut in?"

Serena instantly placed a fingernail in her mouth and began to chew, what the hell did Nate think he was doing? She couldn't dance with him. Carter paused for a moment, looking back and forth in between the two before mutter a 'sure, whatever' and walking away.

Serena hesitated before stepping up to Nate and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"What exactly do you think you're doing Nate," Serena asked. Staring intently into his green eyes as they began swaying to the music.

He shrugged. "I'm just dancing with the birthday girl, what's the big deal?"

The blonde raised her perfectly shaped eye brows skeptically, "Just a dance?"

"Just a dance," he repeated.

She sighed, "Fine."

He felt her finally relax in his arms and rest her head against his chest. And as much as they both wanted to deny it, it finally felt like they were home.

_And oh, I'm into you and girl no one else would do._

_With every kiss and every hug, you make me fall in love._

_And now, I know I can't be the only one,_

_I bet there's hearts all over the world tonight_

_with the love of their life who feel what I feel when I'm with you._

Nate wondered how many hearts around the world belonged to Serena. He was certain there had to be plenty, it wasn't exactly hard to fall for her. It wasn't just her looks, of course she was gorgeous, that was obvious. But what Nate loved most about her was her spirit. She was so carefree and she was a good person. She wasn't Blair. She didn't worry about the right shoes to wear, or what Gossip Girl would say about her, or if people would judge her. She just lived her life. As the song came to end, Nate reluctantly let Serena go, but not for longer than a second. He grabbed her arm and pulled her outside to the pool area and into a corner, away from everyone else.

Serena looked around cautiously, making sure no one was paying attention to them. "Nate what the hell are you doing?"

He held back a laugh, "Calm down, I just wanted to give you my present before the party starts getting too crazy."

Present? Serena began to fidget, she resisted the urge of shoving another fingernail in her mouth and chewing it. She wasn't exacty sure what Nate got her, but if he couldn't give it to her infront of everyone else, she wasn't sure she wanted it.

Nate began to remove the small box from his pocket.

"Look Nate, you really didn't have to.."

"I wanted to. Please, just open it."

Serena took a deep breath before removing the top of the box. She let out a small gasp as she saw what was inside. Slowly, she pulled the small silver charm bracelete out of the box. Nate quickly grabbed it out of her hands, she looked up at him, confused. Nate smiled, "I just want to explain why I picked each charm. First, we have the alligator," he began, pointing at the tiny green charm, "since we all knew you wanted to live with them so badly in elementary school." She smiled, "I thought they were cute." "Even when everyone else thought they were ugly," Nate added, laughing. Serena just rolled her eyes and waited for Nate to continue. "I picked a ballerina shoe because of that tiny glass ballerina that sits on top of your jewelry chest. I remember when we were little you used to try and imitate her," he smiled at the memory. "The teddy bear is for that kilt-wearing teddy bear from Scotland that's always sitting on your little dressing table. I picked the small tooth, because you have that little collection of baby teeth in that silver box on your bedside table. The small fairy is because you spent two years of your life obsessing over Tinkerbell, you were determined to grow up and be just like her. And finally we have a heart, because yours is amazing. You care about the little things and you love your life and the people in it. You have one the biggest hearts out of anyone I've known, and I hope you never let that go. I love that you still laugh the same way you did when you were four years old and I'd chase you around the playground. I love how carefree you are and how you don't care what anyone thinks of you. I love how you're always trying to be in a good mood, except in the morning. I love you, Serena. Happy birthday." He held her wrist in his hand and slowly clasped the bracelet onto it.

Serena was speechless. There were tears in her eyes, but she knew she couldn't let them fall. She couldn't say anything back to Nate. She couldn't kiss him. She couldn't do a lot of things she wanted to at that moment.

_Can't or won't, S? There's a difference.._

Nate stared at her, waiting for her to say something. A single tear made it's way down her cheek, he lifted his hand and brushed it away. He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back comfortingly, "Don't cry. Please, gifts aren't supposed to make you cry. Did I really do that bad of a job?" Serena pulled away, and looked up at him. "Nate, this is the most amazing gift anyone has ever given me.. I just.. I don't even know what to say.. I mean.." Suddenly, it happened. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her face to his and he kissed her. He felt her hesitate for a moment, and then she was kissing him back. Her lips parted and his tongue slowly entered her mouth, slowly and cautiously. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and every part of his body was on fire. He loved the feeling of her body being this close to his. He loved how sweet and delicious Serena smelled. He loved how soft her lips were and the way her lip gloss tasted. He loved the way she kissed him. Suddenly, Serena pushed him back.

"Shit. Shit. Shit."

"Am I really that bad of a kisser," Nate joked. Earning him a death glare from Serena.

"Nate this isn't funny, what if someone saw us."

Nate motioned around him, "Does it look like anyone saw us Serena?"

She glanced around. Every one that was outside was either in the pool, or dancing on the pool deck. There had to be at least one hundred people out there, all jammed together, chatting away, drinking.. not one person was looking their way.

Serena breathed a sigh of relief and then slowly began to walk away. Nate grabbed her arm, "Where are you going?"

"Back inside Nate. This can't happen. I want you to stay away from me, I mean it." She winced, she knew she didn't sound convincing. She didn't even believe herself.

"I can't do that. Serena, you kissed me back. I care about you, I want to be with you."

She pulled her arm out of his grasp, "Don't talk like that. You are with Blair. You love Blair. I can't be with someone that loves two people Nate. It just won't work."

Nate opened his mouth to object, but she had already turned and started quickly walking back into the party.

Once inside she went straight over to the bartender and got herself a drink. Tears were already flowing down her cheeks and she quickly brushed them away before anyone would notice. She tossed back one shot and then another. If she was going to get through the rest of tonight acting like nothing was wrong, she needed to get drunk, really drunk. And that's exactly what she was going to do.

Back outside Nate had sat down on one of the poolside chairs, his head in his hands, trying to figure out what had just happened. After a few moments, he felt someone sit down next to him. He looked over to see Chuck staring at him.

"Not enjoying the party Nathaniel?"

"I'm fine. Just tired."

Chuck raised his eyebrows skeptically, "So.. what's going on with you and Serena?"

Nate studied Chuck's face for a second, "Nothing man, I told you we're just fri.."

"Don't lie to me Nate. I saw you kiss her."

_Didn't anyone ever tell you N? Secrets never stay secret for that long._

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**A/N: **I know this chapter was kind of short, but it was just a filler. The next chapter will have the rest of the party, it'll also contain a few Blair/Chuck scenes. I decided to have Chuck find out about Serena/Nate, it just fits. Also, some of the charms on Serena's bracelet that Nate gave her really do exsist. For example, the glass ballerina, silverbox with baby teeth and the Scottish teddy bear are all really in Serena's room in the bood. Anyways, I gave you a Serena/Nate kiss, you give me reviews. Sound good:o)


	10. Confessions

Thanks to all who reviewed.

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Chapter 9 – Confessions

Shit. Nate stared at Chuck for a few moments, not exactly sure how to respond.

"Uh… I… look Chuck, we aren't… we…"

"Save it Nathaniel, I'm just disappointed you didn't tell me sooner. I mean, sex with Serena van der Woodsen is probably every guy's dream, I want details," Chuck replied with a smirk.

"Chuck, you can't say anything, it was a one time thing and…"

"I can tell by that look in your eyes that it's more to you than a one time thing."

"I love Blair."

"Are you sure about that?"

Nate paused and looked down at the ground. The truth was, he wasn't sure of anything anymore. As far back as he could remember, he could always count on both Blair and Serena to be there. He'd always loved them both and he never realized that someday he would be forced to make a decision between the two of them.

"Look, I'll keep your little secret, but do me a favor Nathaniel and do the right thing, even if it means you have to hurt someone you care about."

Nate glanced back up at Chuck, surprised by the words that had just come out of his mouth. Chuck giving good advice? Since when did that happen?

"Uh.. thanks Chuck. I'm gonna just head back inside…"

"Hey Nate?"

Nate paused and turned around, "Yeah?"

"Honestly, how was she?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "It's Serena, how do you think she was?"

"Nice."

Nate chuckles and rolls his eyes once again at the guy he called his best friend, then makes his way past the crowd and back into the party, his eyes scanning for that long blonde hair that he loved so much.

Meanwhile, Chuck was scanning the crowd for a certain brunette. He may have promised that he wouldn't tell Nate's secret, but that didn't mean he couldn't help Blair figure it out on her own.

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"Carter!"

Carter turned around to see a gorgeous, very drunk, Serena van der Woodsen making her way towards him. She tripped and he caught her just in time, holding her against his chest.

"Easy there babe," he laughed, "you alright?"

She stared up at him smiling, "I'm great. How are you?"

"I'm good, what have you got there," he asked, motioning to the glass in her hand.

"Sex on the beach," she replied with a giggle.

"Oh really…" he trailed off suggestively, glancing at her toned stomach and her tan legs. He put his arm around her waist and led her out onto the dance floor.

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"You know, I think that bikini would look even better off."

"Ugh. Bass, I'm really not in the mood," Blair replied in an irritated mood.

"I could help you with that." He slowly began massaging her shoulders. She immediately shrugged him off.

"There must be at least one hundred drunk bimbos here, go make yourself happy and seduce one."

"I'd prefer something that required somewhat of a challenge."

Blair scoffed and raised her eyebrows skeptically, "Since when?"

He simply shrugged.

"Have you seen Nate anywhere?"

He smirked. "Uh, yeah… I actually just saw him a little bit ago." _Making out with your best friend._

She hadn't seen Nate in fucking hours. Tonight was supposed to be the perfect night. They'd dance, look into each other's eyes and declare their love for each other, then he'd take her home and they'd have sex and live happily ever after.

"I'm going to go find him."

"Wait," he said, grabbing onto her arm.

She looked back at him, puzzled.

"I just… I'm here if you need me, okay?"

If Chuck hadn't looked so serious, Blair probably would have laughed. Chuck Bass didn't do sweet. He didn't do nice. And he certainly didn't tell people he was there for them.

Blair's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, "Um… okay, thanks I guess? I'll see you later."

She turned and made her way back inside, Chuck watching her every step as she went.

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It took a lot to make Nate mad. It took even more to make him lose his cool. But when he walked back into the party and saw Serena and Carter dancing on top of a table, he saw red. Carter's hands were placed on Serena's thigh, pulling her closer to him. Serena moved her hips to bass gracefully, despite the fact that by this time she was probably wasted. But that isn't what made Nate lose his cool. No, he was used to guys groping Serena. It had always been that way. He lost his cool when Carter turned Serena around to face him, and kissed her. Right there, on a table, in front of the entire party. What made him lose his cool even more, is the fact that Serena began to kiss him back.

Before he knew it, Nate had jumped up onto the table top, punched Carter in the mouth, and dragged Serena off the table and outside.

"Nate, what the fuck is wrong with you," the blonde asked loudly, trying to pull her hand out of his grasp.

He didn't answer her, he simply kept pulling her along into they had reached a secluded area outside. Only then did he release her hand and turn around to face her.

"I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but you aren't my boyfriend. Have you seriously lost your mind? You can't just fucking punch every guy that kisses me and you certain can't tell me what to do at my own birthday party," she said, her head buzzing with alcohol. She was too drunk to deal with this shit.

"Serena, that guy's an asshole and…"

"No Nate. I don't care. I don't care what you think of Carter or anyone else I choose to date. You seriously fucking crossed the line back there."

"I know, I just.."

"You just what Nate? There's no excuse for this shit. Now why don't you do yourself a favor, and go find Blair or something."

"No."

"What?"

"Shut up. Just shut up for five seconds and let me talk, okay?"

The blonde simply nodded her head, taken back by his sudden tone of voice.

"You said earlier that you didn't want to be with someone that loves two people. But here's the thing, I may love two people, but I love them in two very different ways. Yes, I do love Blair. We've been through a lot and she's helped me through a lot of shit. I care about her and I would never want to hurt her or see some one else hurt her. But I love her more as a friend. Serena, I'm in love with you. I want you, in a way that I don't want any one else. Blair will always be in my heart, but she'll never come close to you. And I promise you, if you just give me a chance, I will never hurt you. I will never betray you. And I will never make you regret your decision. You kissed me back tonight Serena, that meant something. I mean something to you, and I'm just waiting for you to stop being so god damn stubborn and just admit it."

Serena just stared at him, trying to process all that information through her alcohol fogged head. After a few moments, Nate spoke again.

"Forget it, you're too wasted for this." He turned and began to walk away.

"I'm in love with you too."

Nate stopped where he was and turned around, not certain if he actually heard those words, or if he was just hearing things. Judging by the look on Serena's face, he wasn't just hearing things. He slowly walked back over to her and stopped just inches in front of her face.

"Say it again."

She searched his eyes, before allowing a small smile to form on her face, "I'm in love with you too."

Nate closed the space between them and softly kissed Serena's lips, the taste of alcohol still present. She began to kiss him back, slowly, carefully. She pulled him even closer to her, deepening the kiss. The kisses started to become more eager and intense as she allowed his tongue entrance to her mouth. He back Serena up against the wall, pushing himself against her. After a few moments they pulled apart, gasping for breath. Nate studied Serena's eyes, worried that she'd think she made a mistake. But, to his relief, she smiled.

"Let's go."

He looked at her, confused. "Go where?"

"My place."

"But what about the party?"

"Nate. Are you seriously concerned about the party?"

He looked into her navy blue eyes and saw nothing but desire.

"But you're drunk, this isn't a good idea. I don't want you to regret…"

She quickly interrupted him, "I never regret anything when it comes to you."

She pulled him in for another brief kiss. When they pulled apart, he smiled down at her. "Okay, let's go."

He placed his hand in hers and they walked around to the front of the hotel, got a cab, and the rest was history repeating itself.

_S and N are playing with fire and only time will tell who's going to get burned._

**Spotted**:

A larger group of people singing 'Happy Birthday', with no birthday girl to be found.

A pissed off looking **B**, walking around the party. Looking for a certain someone perhaps?

**S **and **N** making their way inside **S's** townhouse. Hmm.

**C** leaving the party with some redhead. At least some thing's are still normal around here.

You know you love me,

Gossip Girl.

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**A/N: **I know, it's short. And pretty crappy. But I have an idea for a new story that I've been dying to start writing. So this is just a quick update since I'll probably be paying more attention to the new story instead of this one for awhile. But don't worry, I won't forget about it. And plus, the new story will of course be a SerenaNate. Except it'll be pretty AUish. Keep an eye out for it in the next few days. And most importantly review!


	11. Love

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, a lot has been going on

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, a lot has been going on.

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Chapter 10 – Love

Serena van der Woodsen felt the warmth of the sun shining through her window. She sighed and cracked one eye open to glance at the clock next to her bed, a red 9:34 shone back at her. Definitely way too early to get up. She snuggled down deeper under the covers when her leg sudden made contact with something warm… and hairy? She slowly looked underneath the sheets to not only find that she was naked, but another leg next to hers, a guy's leg. Shit. _What did I do last night?_ She tried to concentrate on the events that happened after the party, but it was all a blur. Slowly she turned her body and glanced at the person sleeping next to her.

Nate.

Relief washed over her, but then a moment later, panic set it. She slept with him again. How could she sleep with him again? He's still with Blair. Blair, her best friend since they could walk. Shit. Shit. Shit.

She slowly started to get out of bed when all the sudden Nate's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to him. "Where do you think you're going," he asked, as he yawned. He loved waking up to that long blonde hair, he could already feel a smile forming on his face.

"I um, I have to go…"

Nate felt the smile slowly fall from his face. Why did she sound so scared?

"Serena, are you okay?"

"I'm fine Nate, I just have to go. I have a lot of shit to do today," she replied as she pushed his arms off her and got out of bed.

Nate felt his stomach sink. She had told him she was in love with him last night, hadn't she?

He quickly got out of bed and grabbed her arm, pulling her back down.

"Serena, we need to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"You told me you were in love with me last night."

She froze. Shit. She swallowed and tried to regain her composure.

"I… I don't remember that."

Nate couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had waited so long to hear her say those words and now she didn't even remember saying them?

She had already gathered all her clothes in her hands and made her way to the bathroom. He followed her, shutting the door behind him.

"Nate, get out of here. I need to shower and you need to leave."

"No."

"Nate, I'm not kidding."

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me that you didn't mean what you said last night. Look me in the eyes and tell me that you're not in love with me. Tell me that you don't want to be with me."

She looked back into his eyes and tried to say those words. But they wouldn't come out. Tears started to form and she quickly blinked them away.

"I'm going to tell Blair it's over. That it's been over for a long time, because it's always been you."

Serena closed her eyes and took a deep breathe. "I don't want to lose her."

"You won't. You guys have been friends for too long. She'll be pissed at first, but she'll come around eventually. Everything will work out in the end, I promise."

Serena slowly nodded her head before whispering, "Okay."

Nate gently pushed her back up against the closed door and brought his lips to hers. After a few moments, he broke the kiss and whispered into her ear, "So, didn't you say something about needing a shower?" She giggled and squealed as Nate lifted her up and carried her into the shower, and showed her just how much he wanted her.

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Blair Waldorf felt like screaming as she got Nate's voicemail for the millionth time today. He had disappeared at the party and she hadn't heard from him since. Not to mention there was some insane story on Gossip Girl that involved Nate punching out Carter for kissing Serena.

Speaking of her blonde best friend, she hadn't heard from her either. Not that Blair was surprised. Serena always ended up somewhere crazy the morning after getting wasted. Blair was sure she'd get a call from the blonde in a few hours telling her all about her wild night with some random guy she met.

Frustrated, she picked up her phone again and dialed Chuck's number. Yes, she was desperate enough to ask Chuck for help.

"Please tell me this is a booty call."

She rolled her eyes, "Chuck. Do you have any freaking idea where my boyfriend might be?"

"Sleeping all day. Like normal people do after a night of partying."

"It's almost noon. His dad would never let him sleep in this late."

"Maybe he's not sleeping at his house then."

"Where else would he be sleeping if he's not at your place?"

"Don't ask me. I know nothing."

Blair could practically see the smirk on his face.

"Whatever. I'll just go over to Nate's and surprise him. Thanks for your help asshole."

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"Nate stop. Pleaseeee," Serena whined and she tried to push Nate off her. She had managed to get herself into a tickle fight with Nate, which was never a smart idea considering she always lost.

"Not until you say, 'Nate Archibald you are the most gorgeous guy I have ever met. You are perfection and I am so in love with you.'"

Serena stuck out her tongue, "Someone's a little full of himself."

He grabbed onto her sides and began tickling her once again.

"Okay, okay, I'll say it!" She shrieked. "I don't know about the perfection part, but I am definitely so in love with you."

He looked down into her stunning navy blue eyes and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, cheeks, nose and finally her lips.

Suddenly, Nate's phone began to ring.

"Nate, you know you're going to have to answer that eventually."

"I know, but not right now. Today's been too perfect to have other people ruin it."

Serena smiled and snuggled closer into his chest, loving the familiar smell of his cologne.

She felt a vibration under her leg and realized her phone was now ringing. She slowly reached for it and was surprised when she saw Chuck's name on the caller ID.

"Why would Chuck be calling me?"

"Who cares, don't answer it. It's just Chuck."

"But I'm curious," she replied with a pout before flipping her phone open.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of receiving a call from the Charles Bass?"

"If I knew you were going to be that happy just to get a call from me, I would have stopped over in person so we could both express our.. happiness."

"Okay, I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Seriously, what do you want?"

"Someone's a little moody. Actually, I didn't call to talk to you, I need to talk to Nate."

"Um, okay. So why did you call me? Nate's not…"

"I already know he's there princess. He told me about the two of you last night, and considering he's not at home, at Blair's, or at my place, there is only one other place he'd be and that's with you. Now please, give him the phone. It's important."

Serena glanced over at Nate and tossed the phone to him.

"I can't believe you'd tell him about us, it's Chuck. I wouldn't be surprised if half the fucking city knew now," she said as she got up and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Nate sighed as he put the phone to his ear.

"Thank you for ruining my morning Chuck. What do you want?"

"I'm trying to save your morning from getting any worse. Blair just called me looking for you. She's on her way over to your house, so I suggest you get your ass home before she gets there."

"Shit."

Nate hung up the phone and threw it onto the bed. He quickly threw on his clothes and ran downstairs. He found Serena sitting in her living room with nothing but a robe wrapped around her perfect body.

"Why would you tell Chuck about us without talking to me about it first?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry. It just kind of happened. He's not going to say anything. Chuck may be an asshole, but he's still my best friend."

She rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Where are you going?"

"I have to leave."

She nodded, "Blair?"

"Yeah… Chuck said she was on her way to my house."

"Well I guess you should go then."

Nate noticed that sadness in her voice. He walked over to her and took her into his arms and held her there.

"I'm going to tell her. And after I do, I am coming back here and we are spending the day together and we're going to do whatever you want. And everything is going to be perfect. Okay?"

She let a small smile form on her face, "Okay."

Nate tilted her chin up and placed a quick kiss on her lips. "I'll call you when I'm on my way back over. I love you."

Serena had to bite her lip to keep herself from letting out a squeal, she still couldn't believe how much she loved hearing him say those words.

"I love you too," she replied as she gave him another kiss.

He smiled down at her, and then walked towards the door, feeling incredibly lucky that Serena's townhouse was so close to his own.

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Blair checked her lip gloss in her compact mirror once more before shutting it and tossing it back into her Prada purse. She tapped her foot impatiently as the car was once again stuck in traffic. All she wanted to do was get to Nate's and kiss her perfect boyfriend and have him reassure her that she's the only one for him and all those silly Gossip Girl rumors were completely not true.

_I hate to break it to you B, but I never lie._

Finally, the car stopped outside of Nate's house and Blair practically ran up the stairs and rang the door bell. One of the maids answered and told her that Mr. Archibald was in the living room resting.

She slowly made her way through the Archibald's house until she found a sleeping Nate on the couch.

She sat down next to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. His eyes blinked open and he gave her a small smile, "Hey Blair."

"Hey sleepyhead. I've been trying to get a hold of you all day. What happened to you last night?"

"I didn't feel so well, so I left the party early. I was going to tell you, but I couldn't find you anywhere, so I just left. I'm sorry."

Blair let out a sigh of relief. He was just sick, that's all. He wasn't punching out Carter or running around with Serena, he was sick. Take that and stick it up your ass, Gossip Girl.

"It's okay. Do you want me to go make you some soup or something? I could go home and bring over some movies, or…" 

"Actually Blair, there's something I have to tell you."

She felt her heart sink. The tone of his voice told her that this wasn't going to be something that she wanted to hear. She let out a deep breathe, "Okay… what is it?"

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Make sure you review!


	12. Wait

Happy GG day everyone

I loveddd the season finale. And the Serena and Nate interaction at the end. It's about time! Sorry this is so short. It's kind of just a filler for the next chapter and I just wanted to get it posted.

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Chapter 11 – Wait

Serena tossed her phone down onto the couch after trying, once again, to get a hold of Nate. It had been over two hours since he left her house and she still hadn't heard from him. How long could it take for him to talk to Blair? But then again, she knew how difficult Blair could be. Maybe he was just comforting her because she's so heartbroken over him breaking up with her. Nate's a nice guy, he'd totally do something like that. After all, the three of them had been friends forever, of course he'd always care about Blair.

She went through all the possible reasons of why Nate could be taking so long before the pacing started. She must have made at least five laps around her entire living room before trying to calm herself down. She was being ridiculous, she knew that. She just wasn't used to actually falling for a guy. She never felt this way before and she figured it was only natural to be nervous, and protective and worried and to feel like you're going crazy.

_Completely natural._

She managed to get her body to sit still for five minutes on the couch before moving outside to her balcony.

She took a long inhale of her cigarette and breathed out deeply. Calm down, she told herself again. A few moments later, a deep voice from behind her made her jump out of her seat.

"Miss me?"

She turned around to see Nate Archibald standing there. Her Natie.

She quickly ran into his arms, forgetting all about the burning cigarette on the balcony. She placed a small kiss on his lips before dragging him inside and sitting him on the couch next to her, a huge smile on her face the entire time.

"So," her blue eyes looking at him expectantly, "how'd she take it?"

Nate looked down at the ground for a moment. Shit. He knew he had to say something. The only problem was, he knew he could never lie to Serena, and telling her the truth was going to hurt her.

"Nate…" Serena said after a moment of silence, looking at him curiously.

Nate took a deep breath and looked back up at the blonde. "I couldn't do it."

The words hung heavily in the air, and for a few moments, no one spoke. Serena felt the tears forming behind her eyes and managed to choke out, "Why? What happened?"

_Flashback:_

"_Actually Blair, there's something I have to tell you."_

_She felt her heart sink. The tone of his voice told her that this wasn't going to be something that she wanted to hear. She let out a deep breathe, "Okay… what is it?"_

_This is it, Nate told him self. He couldn't wait to just get it over with and get back to Serena, he smiled at the thought of her._

"_Nate, where are you?" He heard his mother scream from somewhere in the house._

_Shit. This definitely wasn't part of the plan._

_When Nate didn't answer right away, Blair decided to do it for him._

"_We're in the living room Mrs. Archibald."_

_A few moments later Nate's mother appeared in the door way, smiling at the sight of Blair and Nate sitting on the couch together._

"_Blair darling, how are you? Nate forgot to mention you were stopping by, you have to stay for dinner."_

_Blair gave Nate's mother a polite smile and accepted the offer._

"_Uh, actually mom, can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen or something?" He could barely contain the panic in his voice. Blair couldn't stay for dinner, she just couldn't._

_Mrs. Archibald looked at him warily, before nodding her head and following him out of the room._

"_It's rude to leave your girlfriend sitting out there by herself Nathaniel, now what is it that's so important you had to drag me in here for heaven's sake."_

"_I'm breaking up with Blair," Nate blurted out._

_His mother stared at him for a moment, speechless, before she began shaking her head._

"_I'm sorry Nate, but that's just… no… you can't, not right now."_

_Nate looked at his mother in disbelief._

"_You can't tell me…"_

_She quickly interrupted him. "Nate, your father has a huge deal in process with Eleanor Waldorf. This could ruin everything he's worked for, you can't do this to your father. Besides, you and Blair have been together since you were in diapers, I'm sure this is just a rough patch, you'll work it out." _

"_Mom, I don't want to work it out. I'm in love with someone else."_

_She shook her head and let out a small laugh._

"_Nate, you're far too young to know what real love is. Just try and work things out with Blair, at least until this deal goes through. Please, for your family."_

_Nate let out a deep sigh and slowly nodded his head. His mother smiled and placed a light kiss on his forehead before walking off to find a mind somewhere. Nate slowly made his way back to the living room where Blair was still sitting on the couch._

"_Hey you, is everything okay?" She looked up at him with concern._

"_Yeah, Blair, everything is… perfect."_

_She gave him a small smile before leaning in and placing a kiss on his lips._

"_I love you Nate Archibald, always have, always will."_

_He studied her face for a moment. Her silky brunette hair that he had always loved running his hands through. Her big, brown doe eyes that were filled with insecurities, hope, and affection._

"_I love you too."_

_End flashback._

Serena was speechless. She wiped away a few of the tears that had somehow managed to fall, before getting up from the couch and walking back out towards the balcony. Nate quickly followed her.

"Serena, please… just say something." His voice was desperate. He wanted her to reassure him that everything would be okay, that'd she'd wait for him.

"I don't know what you want me to say, Nate. I can't do this. I can't be the 'other woman'. I just… I don't know." Her voice was soft, almost breakable.

Nate knelt down in front of her, grabbing both of her hands. "You could never be the other woman. Not when you're the Only woman. I'm in love with you and only you. I know I don't have any right to ask you this, but please, please wait for me. The second my dad's deal goes through I'll end things with Blair and then it'll just be me and you. I promise. Please Serena. I don't know what I'm supposed to do without you."

She studied his face for a moment. She could see the pain behind his eyes, those completely wonderful green eyes. She let out a sigh. "I'll wait, Nate. Only because I love you. But don't expect me to wait forever."

He let out a breath of relief, he wasn't losing her. She was going to wait for him. A huge smile spread across his face as he picked her up and carried her inside, showing her just how much he would be worth the wait.

_Aw, young love. So cute. Unfortunately for them, school starts tomorrow._


End file.
